Self-Love, Sustainable Living and Travel.

Glamour Health Challenge with Kayla Itsines

Glamour Health Challenge in Amsterdam with Kayla Itsines

Wow, what an AMAZING Weekend!

This past weekend I traveled from Oldenburg, Germany to Amsterdam, Netherlands to attend the 1st stop in Kayla Itsines’s Boot camp World Tour! After discovering her Instagram account more than a year ago, it was truly an honor to meet the women who Inspired me to step outside of the box and push myself with my workouts, the woman who helped me realize there are so many other forms of progress and goals to work towards besides those numbers we see on a scale. Healthy, Fit & Strong. This is what she embodies and promotes, and I will be forever grateful for all her advice, encouragement and for the bonds I established with women from around the world thanks to her Bikini Body Guides. I only wish we could have One Massive Boot camp! Maybe someday 😉

I’ll admit I had my doubts about traveling to Amsterdam and attending the event alone, in a country where I do not speak the language, but I had promised myself if I ever had a chance to meet Kayla and attend one of her boot camps I would. So, Friday AM I finished packing my bag and jumped on the bus to head to Amsterdam. Thanks to Kayla’s BBG I have connected with some amazing women around the world, including my Dutch friend & BBG sister Oksanna, who was kind enough to host me this past weekend. She unfortunately could not attend the event, but Saturday morning, with her help we figured out the route I would need to get to the Boot camp, I off I went. 1 Bus Ride, and 2 Trains later I arrived! While riding the train and standing in line waiting I met some other BBG girls who had also traveled alone, and just like that we joined forces for the day. It’s amazing having a love of fitness and these guides in common, it creates an immediate connection/bond.

We lined up outside the gates, and waited for the gates to open, excited and eager to enter the event, as more and more girls and women continued to show up and get in line. Once the gates opened, in poured upwards of 2,000 women of all ages, shapes and sizes. Teenagers, women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, mother and daughter duos and groups of fitgirls. All these women coming together to celebrate Health and Fitness and experience this unique experience together. It was truly an amazing sight to see and experience to have.

The event was hosted by Glamour Magazine Netherlands, who planned a whole day of Health & Fitness. The day kicked off at 11:30 with a Yoga Wear Fashion Show, followed by a 45 minute Yoga class taught by Wilma Werkheim. The yoga class was all in Dutch, but thanks to my German knowledge I was able to understand quite a bit and keep up without too many difficulties. The yoga class was followed by another Fashion show showcasing Running wear. Then came an hour break in which everyone could explore the Fitness wear stands, and grab something to eat or drink at one the many Healthy Food and Drink stands where you could eat almost anything your heart desires! There was such a large variety of healthy and nutritious options including, Bliss Balls, Fresh Smoothies, Breads with Avocado & Fresh Green Apple, humus & roasted Eggplant, Banana Pancakes, Tabloué Salads, Banana Bread, Vegan/Soy, Gluten & Sugar free Vegetal Ice Cream made from Fruits and Spices. Guilt free snacks and beverages designed to fuel your body!

After the break, everyone made their way back to the main field to get ready for the Boot camp. It was kicked off by a final Fashion show of Fitness Wear by some gorgeous Dutch women, including fitness bloggers, and members and founder of the Dutch companies Fitgirlcode and Jogha. Kayla’s Boot camp started straight after!

30 minutes of almost non stop training. She kicked it off with a very sincere Thank You to everyone, and then jumped right into the warm-up! 3 rounds of 30 second of each: Jumping Jacks, Squats and Jump Squats, Mountain Climbers, High Knees, and Push Ups. She then went into rounds focusing on two different exercises, one Jump/Fast exercise followed by an AB/Core exercise. 3 rounds alternating between the 2 exercises for a total of about 3:30 minutes. 1st combo was everyone’s favorite exercise Burpees, followed by a Plank. Then came Jump Squats and Ab Bikes, followed by Split Jumps and Bent Legged Jack Knives. Then came the TEAM Workout, with the walk way used a divider, we were split into two groups and told to face each other. Kayla gave us two exercises, starting with X Jumps and Ab Bikes to be done alternating every 30 seconds for 2 minutes. 2 more rounds of this for a total of 6 minutes facing our Team. The final big Combo of the Boot camp was 5 straight minutes of 10 different exercises, 30 seconds each; Push-Ups, Jumping Jacks, In and Out Jumps, Ab Bikes, Plank, Commandos, Jump Lunges, Lay-Down Push Ups, Mountain Climbers and Burpees! 5 Minutes of Pushing Ourselves to the Limit and it felt Amazing!!! We cooled down, stretched and then took some massive group photos!

Directly after the Boot camp, Kayla had a Meet & Greet, and hundreds of women lined up and waited patiently for their chance to meet, talk with, hug and have a photo taken with Kayla. So many smiles, happy laughs and even some tears of gratefulness. She has changed so many lives with her Guides, and the community that formed because of them, including mine, and it was an amazing, beautiful and overwhelming experience to meet and chat with her in person.

After 6 hours in the Sun, full of fun times, good food, new friends, and a Killer Workout, it was time to leave. But the feeling from this Day, the Energy and Excitement, the Team bond, the Motivation to personally Do my Best in All that I do, has stayed with me. It was an amazing experience, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to go.

My Tips for those attending a Bootcamp: Remember to pack a large Water Bottle, a Yoga Mat (large towel will also work), a fully charged Phone or Camera, get there early to secure a good spot and don’t forget to wear Sunscreen!!! (I was/am so Sunburnt!)

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Thank you Glamour NL for hosting such an Amazing Event and Thank you Kayla for creating your Amazing Bikini Body Guides and for bringing such a beautiful community together and your Bootcamps Worldwide! ❤ Alena

Did YOU attend the Event in Amsterdam? Or are you planning on attending another one of Kayla’s upcoming events? I would love to know!

To join the Worldwide BBG Community, check out Kayla Itsines’s Bikini Body Guides. Or sign up via Email to receive a Free week of BBG Workouts from the Bikini Body Guide. NOTE: I will only ever promote and endorse something that I truly believe in, have personally tried myself and find to be of good quality. Kayla’s Guides fall into this category! ❤

I’m so glad you went! I would have been nervous to go alone too but it sounds like it was just an amazing, fun day. I didn’t realize there were also fashion shows and yoga and all that! If they have one of these near enough to me I hope that I can go!!

Thank you Melissa!! Yes, I was pretty nervous at first, but I’m so glad I decided to go. It was an incredible and unique experience! I don’t know for sure if that’s happening at all the bootcamps, as this one was hosted by the Dutch magazine Glamour, and might have just been unique to Amsterdam, but I’m sure it would be an amazing experience regardless. Hope you can go if there is one near you!! ❤

Oh my gosh, I am so envious Alena. The bootcamp looks like it was so much fun! I can’t believe it was a full day of health and fitness as opposed to just the bootcamp – so cool! Really glad you had a good time and can’t wait to attend a bootcamp one day 🙂